U.S. Destroyer Practices Underway Refueling with Seahawk USV
A U.S. destroyer refueled an Unmanned Surface Vessel earlier this month in the Pacific as part of the Navy’s latest development effort to hone at-sea drone sustainment, the sea service announced Monday. USS Chafee (DDG-90) conducted an at-sea fueling of Seahawk, a Medium Displacement USV on Sept. 11, according to photos released Monday by the Navy. The astern refueling method was previously tested between Seahawk and oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200) in April. The April refueling of the MDUSV was “critical to deployed operations of MUSVs in conjunction with a carrier strike group,” Military Sealift Command said in a statement
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG-90) conducts a fueling evolution with Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) Seahawk, Sep. 11, 2026. US Navy photo A U.S. destroyer refueled an Unmanned Surface Vessel earlier this month in the Pacific as part of the Navy’s latest development effort to hone at-sea drone sustainment, the sea service announced Monday.
USS Chafee (DDG-90) conducted an at-sea fueling of Seahawk, a Medium Displacement USV on Sept. 11, according to photos released Monday by the Navy. The astern refueling method was previously tested between Seahawk and oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200) in April. The April refueling of the MDUSV was “critical to deployed operations of MUSVs in conjunction with a carrier strike group,” Military Sealift Command said in a statement at the time.
During Rim of the Pacific 2026, Seahawk deployed alongside the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group.
The 145-ton trimaran drone vessel is one of two built by Leidos for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research. The MDUSVs were transferred to the Navy in 2021. Alongside its sistership Sea Hunter, the drone boats have since been used for testing across the Indo-Pacific.
U.S. sailors aboard Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Chafee (DDG-90) execute line-handling during a fueling evolution with Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) Seahawk, Sep. 11, 2026. US Navy photo Pentagon images of the fueling evolution show the use of a hose located at Chafee’s amidship refueling stations running to the flight deck of the guided-missile destroyer. The fueling line appears to be secured by various ropes and buffered by pads. Similar modifications were used in April during the refueling test with Guadalupe. Both tests this year involved onboarding personnel to Seahawk.
Compared to the Navy’s traditional warships, the unmanned vessels cannot be refueled through traditional underway replenishment methods. Aside from efforts carried out by Pacific Fleet-assigned vessels, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has developed an UNREP fueling capability for USVs through its No Manning Required Ship – or NOMARS – program.
The astern refueling method was previously tested between Seahawk and oiler USNS Guadalupe (T-AO 200) in April of 2026. MSC photo “Requiring personnel on the USV for the operation adds significant constraints on USV design and operations, as the vessel must then be designed with considerations for safety of the humans on board, even if for a short period of time. It can also be risky and sometimes dangerous to transport personnel to a USV in rough seas or high winds,” highlights a 2024 DARPA report on the need for a dedicated refueling system.
In 2025, NOMARS successfully demonstrated at-sea fueling off California. Developing dedicated logistics methods, techniques and technologies for unmanned vessels will be crucial for the service’s drone boat vision in the coming years.
At WEST 2026, Capt. Garrett Miller, the commander of Surface Development Group One, told a panel to expect “over 30 Medium Unmanned Surface Vessels just in the Indo-Pacific” and “thousands of small USVs.” Miller highlighted the boost to maritime domain awareness that the USVs will provide manned Navy warships while speaking at the San Diego conference.
